4th August 2010
In today's Irish Examiner Noel Baker looks at the finding of a recent publication by the Jesuit Refugee Service, which found that a number of female inmates, who are being held in the Dóchas Centre on immigration related offences, have been subject to racist abuse from other inmates. The article quotes the report, stating that "detainees report having racist insults hurled at them from Irish criminal offenders that are detained within the same space."
In addition, the article focuses on some of the significant findings from the report which relate to the women's general experience of the Dóchas Centre. For example all the women felt that their mental and physical health had deteriorated during their incarceration. Also, all but one of the interviewees described the sleeping conditions in the Dóchas Centre in negative terms. Many of the women also felt they had not been been informed of the facility rules.
The reports stated that in Ireland between 2003 and 2007, there were 5,916 detainees, although over half the cases the detention period was for 3 days or less.
Read more:
Respect for rights in the penal system with prison as a last resort.